Why some party-states collapse and others don't? Why some transformations are accompanied by economic crisis while others by economic growth? Are first political or economic transformation strategic alternatives? This paper comprises the essence of the author’s comparative research on...

Soft budget constraints (SBCs) are a persistent feature of transition economies and have been blamed for i.a. a lack of fiscal consolidation and sluggish growth. EU eastward enlargement has - among other things - been conditioned on tackling SBCs. This paper analyzes such outside conditionality...

This study is the theoretical chapter of a planned book. This book, aims to contribute to the theoretical foundations of similarities and differences in the transformation of party-state systems. Analytical framework of system transformation is based on the extension of the Interactive Party...

This article discusses China’s incremental approach to SOE reform, the difficulties of continuing this approach as the need to make efficiency gains across all sectors of the economy becomes more acute, and future reform options and the challenges in carrying them out.

China's economic reforms have resulted in spectacular growth and poverty reduction. However, China's institutions look ill-suited to achieve such a result, and they indeed suffer from serious shortcomings. To solve the "China puzzle," this paper analyzes China's institution—a regionally...

Growth regressions have provided important insights into the impact of economic reforms on growth in transition economies. Using principal components to decompose reform variables and construct reform clusters, we address unsettled issues such as the importance of sequencing and reform speed....

This paper considers the effects of sequencing and reform speed on output performance in transition countries. These largely unsettled issues are addressed using principal component techniques to construct reform clusters and by explicit tests of speed effects. The results indicate that...

This paper looks at the interlinking of inward FDI, EU accession, and transition-related structural reform processes, and identifies the largest lags of SEE-6 countries in EU accession and transition processes, whose removal would have a positive impact on inward FDI. The analysis is based on...

Years after commencement of the systemic reforms in Central East Europe and the former Soviet Union the main question on the way of conducting reforms remains: gradualism or radicalism? Unfortunately many countries decided to embark on a radical way of transformation which resulted in a number...

In spite of the difficulties incurred by its people, Cuba has maintained a centrally planned economy with single party system. On the contrary, Vietnam has introduced a market economy under communist rule, and succeeded in generally improving living standards. The factors that contributed to the...